Title

Germination Seed Temperature

Problem Scenario

I will investigate whether or not storage temperature of seeds affects the growth rate of the plants.

Broad question

Does seed storage temperature affect germination and growth rate?

Specific Question

How does the temperature at which a seed is stored impact it's germination and growth?

Hypothesis

The seed that is stored at room temperature will grow the fastest because it is already at room temperature and does not need to increase in temperature. All the other seeds will be affected by the stored temperature, and will not grow as fast or as strong.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:

The different temperatures the seeds were stored at before planting.

Dependent Variable:

The growth of the plant.

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

The plants are kept at the same temperature.
The amount of soil and type of soil.
The amount of water given to each plant.
The amount of sun light each plant is exposed to each day.

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Germination- to cause to grow or develop
Temperature- the degree of heat or cold

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General Plan

In this experiment, I will be growing beans. The seeds of the beans will be stored in different temperatures before planting. I will see which plant will grow the fastest.

Potential Problems And Solutions

The seeds won't germinate and therefore not grow into plants.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

None

Experimental Design

(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
seeds	1 pkg	WalMart	3$
Baggies	4	Walmart	2$
water		sink	0$
soil	1 bag starter soil	Paris	4$
heating pad	1	home	0$
Jiffy Pots	4	WalMart	4$
Grow Light	1	Sears	20$
Coffee scoop	1	home	0$

Detailed Procedure

1. get the materials above.
2. put the seeds in 4 different baggies
3. put one bag in the freezer, put one bag in the fridge, keep one in room temp, and then put one in a heating pad.
4.keep them in the temp for a week
5. put the seeds in the same amount of soil and at the same depth . Put pots with the seed in the same place and give the same amount of sun and water each day.
6. measure each plant every week and record on a graph.

Diagram

Photo List

1. Planted seeds 2/8/13
2. No growth 2/15/13
3. No growth - Fridge and Freezer 2/22/13
4. 1.5 cm growth - warm 2/22/13
5. 3cm freezer plant began to grow- 3/8/13
6. Warm plant began to decrease in growth by .25 cm
7. 5.5 cm growth- fridge plant - 3/8/13

Time Line

February 3rd, I will start the procedure. Feb 8th I will plant my seeds in separate pots and record the data weekly. March 8th, I will graph my data collected over the past month.

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Data Table

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

2/8/13 planted seeds
2/15/13 no growth
2/22/13 warm -1.5 cm, room temp. -1.4 cm, fridge- sprout, freezer- sprout
3/1/13 warm - 2 cm, room temp.-4 cm, fridge - sprout, freezer - sprout
3/8/13 warm- 1.75 cm, room temp. -5.5 cm, fridge - sprout, freezer - 3 cm

Graphs

PHOTOS

Planted seeds in labeled 2/15/13 No growth 2/22/13 Fridge and freezer Warm - 1.5 cm growth
containers sprouted


3/8/13: Freezer plant began Warm shrank to Room temperature plant Fridge seed began to
to grow 1.75 cm continued to grow grow

Results

The warm seed was growing the fastest at first but then towards the end of the month in suddenly dropped down 1/2 a centimeter. The total was 1 3/4 centimeters.
The room temp seed grew the second fastest and grew the tallest out of them all. The total amount of growth was 6 centimeters.
The cold temp seed grew the worst. It only sprouted. The total amount of growth was about 1/7 of a centimeter.
The freezer temp seed grew the 3rd fastest. It suddenly grew in the last week. The total amount of growth was 3 centimeters.

Conclusion

According to my results, the room temp seed grew the most and the fastest overall. If you were going to look for the fastest way to grow plants it would keep them at room temp before planting. My hypothesis was correct. Put towards the end it was very close because the frozen temp seed went on a growth spurt and almost beat the room temp seed. The warm temp seed was growing the fastest but then after three weeks it died and stopped growing.

Discussion

In this experiment I was trying to find which plant would grow the fastest and the strongest in 1 month. My findings were that the Room temp seed grew the fastest and the strongest. The warm temp seed was growing the fastest but at the 3 week mark the plant died and stopped growing. The fridge temp seed didn't grow at all it only sprouted. The freeze temp seed grew the 2nd fastest. Towards the end it really started to grow fast almost catching up with the room temp seed.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

This project is for gardeners who want to know which seed temp storage would grow the plant the fastest. In this case, the room temp seed grew the fastest and the strongest. I would recommend keeping the seeds at the room temperature for the best amount of growth and the strongest.

Background Research

Germination of a seed starts when a root burst through the seed coat. When that is done the first shoot emerges and begins to grow upwards. Roots pull down because they detect gravity. Shoots when starting to grow upwards away from the attraction of gravity and towards sun light the plants first leaves unfurl. When it has its leaves and roots it can rely on its own food.

References

The Facts on germination
a Students dictionary
mom

Abstract

When the science fair came along I thought of doing a planting one. After a day of thinking I thought about planting seeds but the seeds would be a different temp. One would be warm, room temp, cold, and one frozen. In this project I was trying to find which plant would grow the fastest and the strongest. The project took a lot of patience because for about 2 weeks there was no growth in the plants. After 2 weeks the plants started growing a t a very high rate. My hypothesis was correct the room temp seed grew the fastest and the strongest. This project would help gardeners now which temp to keep there seeds at.